Electric assist

We bought our first electric bike in 2002, when living car-free in San Francisco. Even after heavy modifications, it wasn't up to the task of moving heavy cargo and passengers up steep hills, so we set about inventing something that was. The result is Stokemonkey, patented in 2006 and still available today. We've learned quite a lot in the meantime, much of it the hard way. We stand ready to guide you in cutting through the hype and jargon surrounding electric bikes to find the best way to ride more and drive less.

While our expertise remains focused most sharply on assisted cargo and family bikes, which are special in their need to provide high power at low speeds efficiently, we are increasingly impressed with the elegance of today's best electric bikes and retrofit kits for longer range personal transport. We stock a tightly curated selection of "best of breed" products in this space.

We're not ashamed of electric assist the way some purist bike people are. But we do tend to be purist enough that we prefer electric approaches that build upon bicycle rather than scooter or motorcycle design. You'll get exercise, and you'll still be able to pedal home when your charge is gone.